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How to Financially Prepare for Your Death

January 24, 2022 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

 

No one likes to think about the day when you leave this Earth. It’s depressing and scary. Most of us would rather spend our time living our life. However, if you have parents or older relatives who died, you may have had the challenging task of cleaning out their homes and trying to arrange their finances. For most people, this is no easy task because the individuals never took steps to make the process easier for loved ones. If you don’t want your family to go through the same difficulty when you pass on, take these steps to financially prepare for your death.

How to Financially Prepare for Your Death

Below, you can find an end-of-life planning guide to help you emotionally and financially prepare for your death while removing any future burden from your loved ones.

Make Funeral Arrangements

Having been through the death of loved ones, I can tell you that the last thing you want to do when you’ve lost someone is to go to the funeral home and make arrangements. If you do this yourself so your family doesn’t have to, you will be giving them an incredible gift.

Create a List of People to Tell

Make a list of people you would like notified in the event of your death. Of course, that includes family and friends. But also include companies that you contracted with.

I’m currently making my list for my husband because I handle all of our finances. I have several accounts with food delivery services like Imperfect Foods, Misfits Market, ButcherBox, and Good Chop. He’d have no idea about these services until the food showed up at our doorstep. He’ll need to know how to contact the companies and stop the deliveries.

When working with my mom, I need to know how to contact some of her friends that I know of but don’t know how to reach in the event of her death. The same goes for companies like her home security system.

Names on Bills

If you have one partner who handles the money, or if you are single, carefully consider the names on your bills.

When Both Spouses Are Alive

If both spouses are alive, have both partners’ names on each bill, if you can. Then, if one partner passes away, the other partner has access to the accounts because his name is on them.

Some companies will only let one person’s name be on the account. If that is the case, make sure the spouse knows the web address to log into the account and how to pay the bill. Then the account can be kept current until you get the death certificate and can close the account and open a new one in the surviving spouse’s name.

Add an Adult Child’s Name on Bills

If you are single and have adult children, add the child’s name to your account. Then, the child can access the account if you suddenly pass away. However, only take this step if both the child and the parent have trust in one another and are both financially responsible.

Access to Important Documents

The person closest to you and most likely to handle your affairs when you pass away—your spouse or children or close family friend—should know how to access your important documents.

Keep Paperwork in One Place

How to Financially Prepare for Your Death
Open safe deposit box with money, jewels and golden ingot. 3d illustration

Keep all of your important paperwork such as will, trust, and life insurance policy in one safe, secure spot that the person who handles your affairs knows about. Some people choose to keep these documents in a bank safety deposit box. Others keep them in a safe in their home. Either way, make sure your trusted contact has the key.

List of Accounts and Passwords

Create a list of all of the accounts that you have and the user ID and passwords so that whoever manages your affairs after you pass can close accounts and pay the remaining bills. You’ll want to list the accounts for all of the services and bills that you have as well as social media accounts.

People often forget the most important passwords—those to your cell phone and computer.

Clean Out Your House

We’ve all heard horror stories of parents who pass away, leaving their children to clean up their homes. If you pass away at 80 and you’ve lived in your house for 50 years, you’ve likely accumulated a lot of stuff. Your basement, garage, and closets may be full. Your adult children do not want to spend weeks sifting through all of your belongings trying to decide what to keep, what to throw, and what to sell.

When you move into a new house, routinely go through it every year or two to throw or give away items you no longer need or that no longer work. Continue doing this throughout your life, and your children won’t face 50 years of accumulated stuff when you pass away.

Don’t Keep Secrets about Power of Attorney & Will

If you don’t want your death to cause hard feelings, be honest before you die about who you have given power of attorney to and why. You should also share what your will contains so no one is surprised after your death.

When my paternal great uncle died, his will was a surprise. He did not split his assets evenly among his children, and the members of his large family had hard feelings toward one another. Even though my great uncle died more than three years ago, the children are fractured and don’t talk to one another due to the contents of the will.

Final Thoughts

None of us likes to think about dying, but all of us will die one day. If you’re able to face your mortality, you can give your spouse and children a great gift by taking these steps to financially prepare for your death. Those you leave behind will be forever grateful for the actions you took while you were alive to make their job of closing your estate easier after you’re gone.

Read More

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Filed Under: Insurance, Married Money Tagged With: death, life insurance, power of attorney, trust, will

What to Do with a Sudden Large Sum of Money

January 10, 2022 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Sudden Large Sum of Money

For years, my aunt and uncle helped their aging relative, Dottie. They didn’t receive any financial assistance for the five to ten hours a week they spent maintaining Dottie’s lawn, cooking her meals, and driving her to doctor’s appointments. They put in that time, week after week, because they loved her and wanted to make the remainder of her life more comfortable. However, my aunt and uncle were in for a surprise when Dottie passed away. They discovered not only that Dottie had a small fortune, but that she had left all of her money to them. My aunt and uncle raised a large family and had always lived on a bare-bones budget, yet suddenly, they had inherited a sudden large sum of money.

My aunt and uncle’s situation was not unique. Many people fall into a large sum of money through inheritances, insurance settlements, gambling, or other ways. If this happens to you, what should you do with the money?

Do Nothing for a Few Months

The best thing to do is nothing. Yes, you heard me. Take the money you received, put it in a bank account, and do nothing with it for a few months to a year. Take time to get over the shock of your good fortune. Take time to plan out how best to use the money.

If you don’t take the time to let the money sit, you may blow it on all of the things you’ve always wanted but could never afford—a new boat, a vacation home in the mountains, nights out at fancy restaurants, etc. Take the time to get used to having so much money before you do anything with it.

Consult with a Financial Advisor

You may also want to consult a financial advisor and see what she recommends you do with the money. However, choose carefully. Some financial advisors are paid based on the products that they sell you, so they may push products that aren’t the best use of your money so they can also benefit from your windfall.

What to Do with a Sudden Large Sum of Money

After you’ve taken a few months to set the money aside and get used to the idea of having a fatter bottom line, you are ready to decide what to do with the money.

Set Aside a Portion to Spend

Sudden Large Sum of Money

If you receive a large amount of money, the first thing most people want to do is spend it. Go ahead and spend some of it, but first, decide what amount you will use frivolously. Maybe you decide on 5% of the money.

Take that 5% and have no guilt buying what you want. Whether that is expensive meals out, or a vacation, or a new car, enjoy the money guilt-free. But, stop spending after that and make wise choices with the remaining funds.

Pay Down Debt

One of the best ways to use a sudden large sum of money is to pay down or pay off your debt. After you pay off debt, you can start with a clean financial slate. Then the money you make every month will be used for the present and the future, not servicing money you spent in the past.

Create an Emergency Fund

How’s much is in your emergency fund? If you have nothing saved or only a thousand dollars or two, use your windfall to bulk up your emergency fund. Experts recommend saving six to 12 months of expenses in an emergency fund. If you have a steady, reliable job, go for the lesser amount. If you’re a freelancer or have a job that may get cut when the economy stalls, save enough for 12 months.

Invest

After you pay down your debts and bulking up your emergency fund, consider investing. This is one of the best uses of the windfall because you’ll continue to earn money through investing, making your windfall grow.

Contribute to Your Retirement

Getting a sudden large sum of money can make your financial future brighter when you contribute to your retirement accounts. However, the government limits how much you contribute to your retirement each year. Depending on how much money you receive, you may not be able to use it all by contributing to your retirement, or you will have to space your contributions over several years.

Buy a House

Sudden Large Sum of Money

If you don’t own a home, now might be the time to buy one. However, even though you have a sudden large sum of money, don’t buy your house based on that money. Instead, buy a house that you would have been able to afford before you received the money. This assures that you won’t spend more than you earn. Use your newfound money to put down a hefty down payment.

By choosing a house you can afford based on your salary, you’ll be able to keep and maintain monthly payments on the house even if you lose the money you just inherited. (Sadly, many people who receive large windfalls end up broke a few years after.)

Contribute to Your Children’s College Funds

Another option is to contribute to your children’s college funds. When it’s time for your child to go to college, the money will be there waiting. You can contribute to a 529, or if you want to save money for your child without earmarking it for college, you can contribute to a Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA).

Final Thoughts

When you come into a sudden large amount of money, you have many decisions to make. Take a few months to a year and do nothing. Wait for the shock to subside. Then, choose from one to several of the above options when deciding what to do with the money. Choose the options that will best serve you and your family. And don’t forget to earmark a small percentage of the money to spend and enjoy.

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Filed Under: budget, Debt Reduction, free money Tagged With: emergency fund, inheritance, money management, paying down debt, windfall

Save Money with Buy Nothing Groups

December 20, 2021 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Save Money with Buy Nothing Groups

Have you joined a Buy Nothing group? You can find these groups on Facebook. Simply enter the name of your town or area and “Buy Nothing.” You likely find a group or two near you. Then, get ready to discover the joy of all the ways you can save money with buy nothing groups!

Save Money with Buy Nothing Groups

You save money in two ways:

Getting Rid of Your Stuff

You can easily get rid of stuff you no longer use with a buy nothing group. Take a picture and list your item in the group. You’ll likely have several takers. All you have to do is place said items outside your home, and the person will come to take them.

Using a buy nothing group to get rid of your stuff saves you gas because you don’t have to drop the items off at a donation center. You can also save on the cost of disposal if you want to get rid of a larger item.

Gaining New Stuff

The true beauty of these groups is when you are in need of items. Buy nothing groups never charge people for the items they’re getting rid of, so if you get an item from the group, you will pay nothing.

Some of the Best Items Our Family Has Received

When my son was in elementary school, he was obsessed with magic. Our local buy nothing group had a magic kit listed, and I got first dibs on it. My son was thrilled with his new-to-him magic kit, which was in excellent condition. About five years later, my daughters needed bicycles. Although it took me a few months, I was able to get both girls bicycles for free from our Buy Nothing group.

How to Make the Most of These Groups

How to Save Money with Buy Nothing Groups
Photo by Anna Kumpan on Unsplash

To make the most of these groups, you need to be flexible. You may want something, but you need to be patient. Sometimes you have to wait weeks or months for someone to list something you need. Also, be flexible with what you need. If you let go of rigidity, you may find what you need. For instance, let’s say you want blue plates. If someone offers up white plates, be flexible enough to take those instead, knowing that your need was met, even if it wasn’t in the exact way you had planned.

Another Bonus

Besides saving money with buy nothing groups, you also reap another benefit. You help keep unused items—either yours or someone else’s—out of landfills! You cut down on consumerism and live the motto of reduce, reuse, and recycle.

One Caveat

If you search for buy nothing groups in your area and don’t find anything, try searching under “freecycle” or “Neighbors helping neighbors.” Another option is to search “Free.” I found several groups in our area under these different terms. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find one.

Final Thoughts

If you haven’t heard of buy nothing groups or you haven’t utilized one before, what are you waiting for? Now is the perfect time to join. You’ll likely be pleased with the items that you need that you can get for free and that you can save money when giving your own items away.

Read More

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Filed Under: Consumerism, Frugality, Saving Tagged With: buy nothing, Consumerism, freecycle, frugal

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